This Day in Baseball History
October 25th

In Game 5 of the World Series at the Polo Grounds, Larry Doyle scores on a sacrifice fly to give the Giants a 4-3 victory over the A's. According to home plate umpire Bill Klem, commenting after the game, the Giants second baseman, in his jubilation about scoring the winning run, really never touches home, but the A’s, however, fail to notice the gaffe and do not appeal.

1927

Garry Herrmann, citing poor health and deafness, resigns as the president of the Reds and will be replaced by C.J. McDiarmid, the club's secretary. During the 68 year-old baseball executive's 25-year tenure with the team, Cincinnati won only one pennant and World Series (1919), but finished in the first division 13 times.

1939

With 15 of the 24 first-place votes cast by the writers, Joe DiMaggio wins his first American League MVP award, easily out-distancing runners-up Jimmy Foxx and Bob Feller. The Yankees outfielder will also capture the prestigious prize in 1941 and 1947.

1955

Branch Rickey steps down as the Pirates' general manager and will be replaced by Joe L. Brown. During the 'Mahatma's five-year tenure, Pittsburgh will endure three 100-loss seasons, but his contributions will help lead the team to a World Championship in 1960.

1955

The Indians trade Larry Doby, the first black to play in the American League, to the White Sox for Chico Carrasquel and Jim Busby. The future Hall of Fame outfielder, who will hit .275 during his two seasons in Chicago, will return to the Tribe in 1958.

1956

White Sox manager Marty Marion resigns and will be replaced by Al Lopez. Chicago's new skipper will pilot the Pale Hose to an 840-650 (.564) record and an American League pennant during his 11-year tenure in the Windy City.

1960

Gabe Paul announces his decision to leave the Reds to become the general manager of the Colt .45's, an expansion team scheduled to begin play in 1962. The experienced baseball executive, after clashing with majority owner Roy Hofheinz, will leave Houston nearly a year before the team plays an official game.

1961

The Mets sign their first player with major league experience when the team inks free-agent Ted Lepico. The 32 year-old middle infielder, who has played with five teams during his ten-year career, will be cut by the expansion team during spring training.

1965

The Cubs end their college of coaches experiment with the hiring of Leo Durocher, who signs a three-year deal and is given complete authority on the field. The Lip's assessment that Chicago is “not an eighth-place ball club", will prove to be correct when his team finishes tenth next season.

1978

Gaylord Perry (21-6, 2.72) is selected by the BBWAA as the recipient of the National League Cy Young Award. The Padres right-hander, who copped the honor with the Indians in 1972, becomes the first hurler to win the prestigious pitching prize in each league.

1981

In Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, Pedro Guerrero's and Steve Yeager's back-to-back solo home runs in the seventh inning off Yankee southpaw Ron Guidry give Los Angeles a 2-1 win, its third victory in the Fall Classic. Guerrero and Yeager, along with teammate Ron Cey, will be named as the co-recipients of the World Series MVP award.

1986

"If one pic­ture is worth a thou­sand words, you have seen about a mil­lion words, but more than that, you have seen an ab­so­lutely bizarre fin­ish to Game 6 of the 1986 World Series." - Vin Scully, describing the aftermath of the play after a long silence.

One strike from defeat, the Mets tie the game on a wild pitch and then, thanks to Bill Buckner's error, win Game 6, knotting the Fall Classic at three games apiece. This event was selected as one of baseball's 30 most memorable moments.

1987

In a series in which each team never loses a game in its home park, the Twins win the World Championship when they beat the Cards, 4-2, in Game 7. The franchise's last championship came in 1924 as the Washington Senators.

2000

Mike Piazza becomes the first player to hit a World Series home run at both Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium. The backstop’s third inning homer off Denny Neagle will account for the only two runs the Mets will score in a 3-2 Game 4 defeat to their cross-town rivals.

2005

The first World Series game ever to be played in the state of Texas proves to be memorable when Geoff Blum’s 14th inning solo home run (30th MLer to hit a HR in first WS AB) becomes the beginning of the end of the longest Fall Classic contest ever played. The 7-5 victory, which gives the White Sox a commanding 3-0 advantage over the Astros, takes 5 hours, 41 minutes to complete, with the 14 frames equaling the number of innings the Red Sox needed to beat the Dodgers in Game 2 of the 1916 series.

2005

Mark Buehrle becomes first pitcher to start and save consecutive World Series contests. After receiving a no-decision starting Game 2, the 26 year-old southpaw gets the final out in the 14th inning of Game 3 to record a save as the White Sox beat the Astros, 7-5.

2007

Hideki Okajima becomes the first Japanese-born player to pitch in the World Series. The former Nippon Ham Fighters hurler comes out of the bullpen in relief of Curt Schilling and retires seven straight Rockies, including Kazuo Matsui, making it the first time Japanese natives have faced one another in the Fall Classic.

2009

The Indians sign 40 year-old Manny Acta to a three-year deal to be the team's 40th manager in franchise history. The former Nationals' field boss, who was fired by Washington in July, is the first Cleveland skipper to be hired outside the organization since John McNamara piloted the club in 1990.

2009

Yusei Kikuchi decides not to entertain offers from American major league teams, opting instead to start his professional career in his native Japan. The 18 year-old left-handed flamethrower, who had interested scouts from the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Cubs, Giants, Tigers, Braves, Rangers, Mariners, and Indians, would have been the first Japanese high school student to come directly to the U.S. to play pro ball.

2009

With a 5-2 victory over the Angels at Yankee Stadium, New York wins its 40th American League pennant. The Bronx Bombers, after a six-year absence from the Fall Classic, will play the Phillies in quest of their 27th World Championship and the first since they beat the Mets in 2000.

2010

John Farrell emerges from the 18 candidates interviewed by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos to replace Cito Gaston, the team's recently retired manager. The former Boston pitching coach's reputation of working well with youthful hurlers is thought to be a real asset for the team's new skipper, given Toronto's talented young rotation.

2011

Canada wins their first major baseball tournament when Team Canada defeats the United States, 2-1, at the Pan American Games played in Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. Jimmy Van Ostrand's sixth inning double, driving in Chris Robinson and Tim Smith, both who had two-out singles to start the rally, proves to be the difference in the gold medal game.

2014

Mo'ne Davis throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Giants' 11-4 victory in Game 4 of the Fall Classic against the Royals at AT&T Park. The 13 year-old pitching phenom, the first girl to to hurl a shutout in the Little League World Series, continues her mastery on the mound, firing a strike right down the middle of the plate.